Nonmetallic Belt Buckle Assembly

ABSTRACT

A nonmetallic belt buckle assembly for facilitating a belt and buckle to be worn while passing through a metal detector includes a belt that may be worn around a waist. A clasp is removably coupled to the belt. The clasp releasably engages the belt such that the belt forms a closed loop to retain the belt around the waist. The clasp is comprised of a non-metallic material. In this way the clasp may be passed through a metal detector without triggering the metal detector.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to buckle devices and more particularly pertains to a new buckle device for facilitating a belt and buckle to be worn while passing through a metal detector.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a belt that may be worn around a waist. A clasp is removably coupled to the belt. The clasp releasably engages the belt such that the belt forms a closed loop to retain the belt around the waist. The clasp is comprised of a non-metallic material. In this way the clasp may be passed through a metal detector without triggering the metal detector.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a back perspective view of clasp of a nonmetallic belt buckle assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of a clasp of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a clasp of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a clasp of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a back view of a clasp of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 thereof, a new buckle device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the nonmetallic belt buckle assembly 10 generally comprises a belt 12 for wearing around a waist. The belt 12 has a first end 14 and a second end 16 and the belt 12 may have a length ranging between approximately 60.0 cm and 100.0 cm. The belt 12 has a first slot 18 extending therethrough and the first slot 18 is positioned closer to the first end 14 than the second end 16. The belt 12 has a plurality of second slots 20 extending therethrough. The second slots 20 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed from the second end 16 toward the first end 14. The first slot 18 and each of the second slots 20 may be oriented to be collinear with a line extending through the first end 14 and the second end 16 of the belt 12. The belt 12 may be comprised of leather or the like and the belt 12 may come in a variety of colors.

A clasp 22 is provided and the clasp 22 is removably coupled to the belt 12. The clasp 22 releasably engages the belt 12 such that the belt 12 forms a closed loop to retain the belt 12 around the waist. The clasp 22 is comprised of a non-metallic material such as high impact plastic or the like. Thus, the clasp 22 may be passed through a metal detector without triggering the metal detector. In this way a wearer may pass through a security check point in an airport or the like without having to remove the belt 12.

The clasp 22 comprises a panel 24 that has a first surface 26, a second surface 28 and a peripheral edge 30 extending therebetween. The peripheral edge 30 has a first lateral side 32 and a second lateral side 34. A tab 36 is coupled to and extends away from the first surface 26 and the tab 36 is centrally positioned on the panel 24. Moreover, the tab 36 may be oriented to be collinear with a line extending through the first lateral side 32 and the second lateral side 34 of the panel 24.

A first bridge 38 is coupled to the first surface 26 of the panel 24 and the first bridge 38 is aligned with the first lateral side 32. The first end 14 of the belt 12 is passed beneath the first bridge 38 thereby facilitating the tab 36 to extend through the first slot 18 in the belt 12. In this way the clasp 22 is removably coupled to the belt 12. A second bridge 40 is coupled to the first surface 26 of the panel 24 and the second bridge 40 is aligned with the second lateral side 34. The second end 16 of the belt 12 is passed beneath the second bridge 40 thereby facilitating the tab 36 to extend through a selected one of the second slots 20 in the belt 12. In this way the belt 12 is retained in a closed loop of a selected diameter.

A hanger 42 is provided and the hanger 42 is selectively and releasably attached to the clasp 22 when the belt 12 is being stored or displayed. The hanger 42 has a first surface 44, a second surface 46 and a peripheral edge 48 extending therebetween. The peripheral edge 48 has a first lateral side 50 and a second lateral side 52. The hanger 42 has a third slot 54 extending through the first 44 and second 46 surfaces and the third slot 54 insertably receives the tab 36 on the clasp 22 having the hanger 42 extending outwardly beneath the second bridge 40. In this way the belt 12 is positioned between the clasp 22 and the hanger 42 thereby inhibiting the belt 12 from falling off of the tab 36. The hanger 42 has a groove 56 extending from the first lateral side 50 toward the second lateral side 52. The groove 56 engages a support, such as a clothes hanger or the like, to suspend the belt 12 from the support for storage.

In use, the first end 14 of the belt 12 is passed beneath the first bridge 38 and the tab 36 is extended through the first slot 18 to removably couple the clasp 22 to the belt 12. The belt 12 is worn around the waist and the second end 16 of the belt 12 is passed beneath the second bridge 40. The belt 12 is tightened on the waist until the tab 36 engages a selected one of the second slots 20 in the belt 12. In this way the belt 12 is retained around the waist. The second end 16 is passed beneath the first bridge 38 to accommodate excess length of the belt 12.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. A nonmetallic belt buckle assembly being configured to be worn, said assembly comprising: a belt being configured to be worn around a waist; and a clasp being removably coupled to said belt, said clasp releasably engaging said belt such that said belt forms a closed loop wherein said clasp is configured to retain the belt around the waist, said clasp being comprised of a non-metallic material wherein said clasp is configured to be passed through a metal detector without triggering the metal detector.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said belt has a first end and a second end, said belt having a first slot extending therethrough, said first slot being positioned closer to said first end than said second end, said belt having a plurality of second slots extending therethrough, said second slots being spaced apart from each other and being distributed from said second end toward said first end.
 3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said clasp comprises a panel having a first surface, a second surface and a peripheral edge extending therebetween, said peripheral edge having a first lateral side and a second lateral side.
 4. The assembly according to claim 3, further comprising a tab being coupled to and extending away from said first surface, said tab being centrally positioned on said panel.
 5. The assembly according to claim 4, further comprising a first bridge being coupled to said first surface of said panel, said first bridge being aligned with said first lateral side, a first end of said belt being passed beneath said first bridge thereby facilitating said tab to extend through a first slot in said belt.
 6. The assembly according to claim 4, further comprising a second bridge being coupled to said first surface of said panel, said second bridge being aligned with said second lateral side, a second end of said belt being passed beneath said second bridge thereby facilitating said tab to extend through a selected second slot in said belt thereby retaining said belt in a closed loop of a selected diameter.
 7. A nonmetallic belt buckle assembly being configured to be worn, said assembly comprising: a belt being configured to be worn around a waist, said belt having a first end and a second end, said belt having a first slot extending therethrough, said first slot being positioned closer to said first end than said second end, said belt having a plurality of second slots extending therethrough, said second slots being spaced apart from each other and being distributed from said second end toward said first end; and a clasp being removably coupled to said belt, said clasp releasably engaging said belt such that said belt forms a closed loop wherein said clasp is configured to retain the belt around the waist, said clasp being comprised of a non-metallic material wherein said clasp is configured to be passed through a metal detector without triggering the metal detector, said clasp comprising: a panel having a first surface, a second surface and a peripheral edge extending therebetween, said peripheral edge having a first lateral side and a second lateral side, a tab being coupled to and extending away from said first surface, said tab being centrally positioned on said panel, a first bridge being coupled to said first surface of said panel, said first bridge being aligned with said first lateral side, said first end of said belt being passed beneath said first bridge thereby facilitating said tab to extend through said first slot in said belt, and a second bridge being coupled to said first surface of said panel, said second bridge being aligned with said second lateral side, said second end of said belt being passed beneath said second bridge thereby facilitating said tab to extend through a selected one of said second slots in said belt thereby retaining said belt in a closed loop of a selected diameter. 